Citation

Kochendorfer LB, Kerns KA. J. Youth Adolesc. 2017; 46(5): 1009-1021.

Affiliation

Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10964-017-0645-0

PMID

28213745

Abstract

Relationships with parents and friends are important contexts for developing romantic relationship skills. Parents and friends may influence both the timing of involvement and the quality of romantic relationships. Three models of the joint influence of parents and friends (direct effects model, mediation model, and moderator model) have been proposed. The present study uses data from a longitudinal study (n = 1012; 49.8% female; 81.1% Caucasian) to examine how attachment and friendship quality at age 10 years predict romantic relationship involvement and quality at ages 12 and 15 years. The results supported the direct effects model, with attachment and friendship quality uniquely predicting different romantic relationship outcomes. The findings provide further support for the important influence of family and friends on early romantic relationships.

Language: en

Keywords

Adolescence; Attachment; Friendship; Parent-child relationships; Romantic relationships